Method for software suspension in a networked computer system

• US 20040153535A1
• Filed: 05/23/2003
• Published: 08/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Original Assignee: JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Inventors: Chau, Tony Ka Wai
• Granted Patent: US 7,401,156 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements

Abstract

According to the inventive method, a network, including its software environment, is suspended in a manner that completely preserves the previous running environment and frees the network to perform other tasks for a period of time, and then to resume the original test as if it had never been interrupted. The method suspends a computer network that is running a test of a first software environment. It suspends the first software environment by a software suspension and then runs a second software environment on the computer network. At the completion of the run of the second software environment, the first software environment can be resumed, as if it had not been interrupted. A sequence of steps allows for the orderly shutdown and persists the entire network'"'"'s operating state at the time of suspension.

Claims

1. A method of suspending a computer network comprising the steps of:

providing the computer network;

running a test of a first software environment on the computer network;

suspending the first software environment by a software suspension;

running a second software environment on the computer network while the first software environment is suspended;

completing the second software environment; and

resuming the first software environment on the computer network.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein resuming the first software environment comprises the steps of:

loading the image data of the first software network environment that was suspended; and

running the first software network environment.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the second software environment comprises a production system.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising the steps of:

suspending the second software network environment according to the steps of claim 1;

loading the image data of the first software network environment that was suspended; and

running the first software network environment.

4. A method of suspending a computer network that is communicating with a plurality of network devices including clocks and running a first software environment, comprising the steps of:

providing a control interface to control the suspension;

sending a request to suspend to the network devices;

synchronizing the clocks the network devices;

synchronizing the communications channels of the network devices;

using the control interface to control the suspension;

handshaking between a control interface and the network devices by the plurality of network devices transmitting a signal to the control interface that the devices are ready to be suspended;

suspending the first software network environment;

saving the first software network devices image data to non-volatile memory;

clearing the network devices and flushing device buffers;

loading a second software network environment; and

running the second software network environment.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising the steps of:

suspending the second software network environment according to the steps of claim 4;

loading the image data of the first software network environment that was suspended; and

running the first software network environment.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the second software network environment is a production system.

7. A system capable of software network suspension comprising:

a computer network with devices having device images;

a software network suspension control interface for suspending the software network environment; and

a non-volatile memory for saving the device images at suspension.

8. A system according to claim 7 wherein the non-volatile memory is a central software suspension memory for storing images for a plurality of suspended devices on the network.

9. A system according to claim 7 wherein the non-volatile memory for storing the images of suspended devices is retained within non-volatile memory within the device that has been suspended.

10. A system according to claim 7 wherein the non-volatile memory is selected from the group consisting of (hard drives, semiconductor memory, bubble memory, EPROM, EEPROM, and organic memory).

11. A system according to claim 7 wherein the software network suspension control interface is a computer.

12. A method of software testing and computer network suspension of a computer network that is communicating over communications channels with a plurality of network devices having internal clocks and running a first software environment, comprising the steps of:

providing a control interface to control the suspension;

sending a request to suspend to the network devices that are running a software simulation prior to suspension;

synchronizing the clocks of the network devices;

synchronizing the communications channels of the network devices;

controlling the suspension of the first software network environment with a control interface;

handshaking between a control interface and the network devices by the plurality of network devices transmitting a signal that they are ready to be suspended;

suspending the first software network environment;

saving the first software network devices image data to non-volatile memory;

clearing the network devices and flushing device buffers;

loading a second software network environment; and

running the second software network environment.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of loading a second software network environment comprises loading a second software network environment.

15. A method of suspending a network comprising the steps of claim 12 wherein loading a second software network environment comprises the step of loading a second software production network environment such that the network serves for a time as a redundant network to a production network.

16. A system capable of network software testing suspension comprising:

a computer network with devices having device images;

a non-volatile memory for saving the device images at suspension;

a production network to be protected by the computer network; and

a software network suspension control interface for suspending the software network environment to run the production network for a time, and the suspension control interface then able to restore the computer network so as to resume the initially suspended software testing as if it had never been interrupted.

17. A method of suspending a computer network that is running a first software environment comprising the steps of:

providing the computer network running the first software environment;

suspending the first software environment by a software suspension;

running a second software environment on the computer network;

completing the second software environment; and

resuming the first software environment on the computer network.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the step of:

suspending the second software network environment;

loading the image data of the first software network environment that was suspended; and

running the first software network environment.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the second software environment is suspended by the method of claim 17.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the second software network environment comprises a production system.